Dubai: A salesman denied in court on Wednesday that he had forged his fitness test application for visa residency renewal and that he had used an old photograph of him when he was overweight.

A 36-year-old Nigerian salesman had gone for a fitness test at one of the government health clinics to renew his residency in November.

As per records, when the Indian X-ray technician was preparing to take an X-ray of the salesman as part of the required fitness tests, he discovered that the photo in the application was different from the person who had shown up for the test.

The technician informed the salesman about the alleged difference when the salesman told him the photo was taken when he was overweight.

The technician then requested the Nigerian to get a recent photo of himself, attach it to the application and return the next day.

When the x-ray technician reported to work the next day, he was informed by co-workers that the salesman had returned for the x-ray. In the meanwhile, police had been informed of the matter and the Nigerian was apprehended by them over suspicions of forgery.

Prosecutors accused the suspect of forging his fitness test application and asking someone else to sit for the tests instead of him.

“That is not true … I am the applicant himself. I went there for the test and I did not forge the application. The pasted photo is mine and it was taken when I was overweight and now I have lost weight,” the Nigerian contended before the Dubai Court of First Instance.

When asked by presiding judge Fahd Al Shamsi on why he used an old photo, the suspect replied that the staff at the clinic did not recognise him in the photo although he had explained to them that he had lost weight.

The x-ray operator claimed to prosecutors that when he noticed the difference in the photo he asked the applicant go get a recent photo.

“The suspect did not return the next day as I had asked him to do. When I reported to work the next day, my colleagues informed me that someone else had shown up for the fitness test. Thereafter we reported the matter to the police,” the operator testified to prosecutors.

A ruling will be heard on April 9.